European Union

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European Union

In the European Union, enlargement, special arrangements for the expansion of the Schengen Area, and the gradual development of a stronger EU role in immigration have added new complexity to the policy landscape, leading to both new patterns of movement and new policies for governing immigration from outside of the European Union's 28 Member States. The research offered here focuses on migration policies, trends, and common challenges that affect Europe at a supranational level—from free movement to asylum policy and the management of EU borders.

As the European Union seeks to implement a Common European Asylum System, these publications and multimedia resources from MPI and MPI Europe examine asylum policy and humanitarian flows to Europe and elsewhere around the world.

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With reforms to its 2005 immigrant integration law and the unveiling of a National Integration Plan, Germany expects to improve integration and come closer to the European Union's Common Basic Principles on immigrant integration. MPI's Eric Leise reports.

Although most Latin Americans head to North America, the increasing flow of people from Latin America to Southern Europe reflects colonial and historical patterns as well as new economic opportunities. Beatriz Padilla and João Peixoto examine various data that show the region's popularity.

Vlaams Belang, a far-right party known for its nationalism and anti-immigrant position, lost one seat in Belgium's parliament in the June 10 national elections. Laura Barker examines the party's use of the immigration issue and reactions to its politics.

Since 2000, Spanish authorities have used a technology-driven system for detecting and apprehending migrants attempting to reach Spanish territory by boat. Jørgen Carling of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo explains how smugglers have responded and why illegal migration to Spain continues.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who announced his resignation this week, leaves behind an immigration system that has been fundamentally reshaped. As MPI's Will Somerville explains, migration is now "managed" to favor migrants coming for work and study.

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This report, the product of two workshops held on border management in Belgium and Texas, addresses three arenas of significant change shared by the United States and the European Union: 1) new government organizations for controlling borders; 2) the use of information technology to secure borders; and 3) visa‐free travel policies.

This policy brief examines the social mobility prospects of the children of Turkish immigrants across five EU nations—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands—and seeks to identify institutional arrangements that promote their academic success and transition into the labor market.

This report examines the ways in which governments can make the emerging global mobility system work better for European migrant-receiving countries, their developing-country partners, and the migrants themselves.

This report seeks to untangle the economic consequences of immigration from the intricate web of influences that affect the labor market by examining the role of various non-immigration factors in determining labor supply and demand.

This book analyzes approaches, strategies, and best practices from EU Member States that could contribute to a sustainable integration policy. It thus provides European, national, regional, and local decisionmakers with instruments they can draw on in establishing a framework for integration.

This policy brief explores the often neglected migration management potential of “regularization” or “legalization” programs, arguing that properly conceived and carefully executed “earned” regularization programs can not only prevent the number and flow of unauthorized migrants from building to unacceptable levels, but can also set the stage for smarter use of enforcement resources and improvements in labor market and social policy development.